Chapter 1 of 6 of my new graphic novel, “Tomorrow.” I think this is the best comic I have ever made. Your purchase of this digital copy will help me finish the next 5 chapters. The whole comic will eventually be published as a book. Thank you so much for your support.

I have read it and it is indeed incredible. Just think, for a mere $5, just $1 more than the deconstructed pamphlets you find lying around, you can get a full 24 pages of evocative work by one of the finest living cartoonists at the peak of her powers. Good deal.

“You get to really focus on what’s unique about Superman and his relationship to his son, and his relationship to his family. And we’re going to really dig into that in the coming months because they’ve been living a traditional family life, but they are by no means a traditional family,” said Bendis. “And I think it actually reflects the family of a lot of people. They don’t have traditional family shapes or traditional family values. They have their own situation based on what they have in front of them and I think having Superman and Lois Lane try that is going to be pretty interesting.”

Experimental and underground artistry is the norm at Desert Island. Look through the Williamsburg store’s plywood shelves and you’ll find glossy paperbacks as well as photocopied-and-stapled booklets with a D.I.Y. aesthetic. Surrounded by ice-blue stalactite sculptures and tapestries, regulars, travelers, and fellow artists immerse themselves in visual publications, seeking escape, inspiration, or both.

Fandom has always been an us versus them proposition. In the early days, it was because you loved something that the world at large found silly, be it comic books or Doctor Who. It was you and those who felt like you, against everyone else. Star Wars redefined fandom because it built a bigger tent than had ever existed before. Suddenly, the “everyone else” also loved Star Wars. Your mom knew what The Force was. Mark Hamill was on The Tonight Show. There was Yoda underwear. It was the first real “fan” thing that exploded into a phenomenon. But fandom always needs a “them.”

§ Megan Purdy looks at one of the great unspoken truths about Hollywood – how big blockbuster films must cater to the Chinese audience and Chinese censors in order to make money. Some have pointed to this as the reason that the big superhero movies haven’t had more openly LGBTQ characters and content, but Purdy argues that Hollywood is Keeping Your Favorite Heroes Straight, Not Chinese Censors

It’s also a convenient dodge for American pop culture fans to place the blame for the lack of LGBTQ representation in Hollywood anywhere but where it belongs: Squarely on the shoulders of Hollywood execs. While it’s true that Chinese audiences represent a larger than ever slice of the movie pie, and that Chinese censors are the gatekeepers for that audience, it’s not true that Chinese censors are holding back Hollywood studios from giving Elsa a girlfriend or Cap a boyfriend. They’re not even keeping Disney or Fox from portraying gay-in-the-comics characters, as gay-on-the-screen; the studios are making, and have always made these decisions all by themselves. If Chinese censors were holding back Hollywood mega studios, we would have noticed a dip in LGBTQ representation, corresponding with the rise in significance of the Chinese market, but there was never much representation to begin with. While we are starting to see more and diverse representations of LGBTQ people on television, decades of straight and cis representation with the odd gay best friend, dead lesbian, or tragic trans character is not exactly a great record.

While Purdy is right to put the blame on timid Hollywood studios, don’t let those onerous Chinese censors off the hook!

Beneath surface friendliness that Japanese may display to foreign (especially white) visitors, is a deeply-rooted belief that gaijin (foreigners) are irreconcilably different from natives of the archipelago nation. Perhaps less articulated is Japanese perplexity and confusion, if not outright discrimination, towards gay people, whether Japanese or foreign, because they fall outside the norms of a highly conformist society. What happens when anxieties over foreigners and homosexuality converge in the presence of an affable, burly Canadian?

§ More praise for Jeff Lemire’s Black Hammer, which has succeeded in building a modest but coloful superhero universe where entire companies have failed:

Black Hammer debuted at Dark Horse Comics in 2016, co-created by Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston, and has been met with critical and commercial success. The series follows a group of superheroes who were stranded in a small town seemingly set outside of time and space as they know it. There they have taken on new personalities and slowly given up hope of ever returning home. That premise belies a rich superhero universe filled with history and characters, as well as the long story behind its creation. As we continue to seek out new ideas for superhero comics, Black Hammer and its creators reveal what it takes to make a new superhero universe work.

§ Tito W. James looks at 7 Film And TV Tropes That I Wish Would Die and most of them are hoary, grey beards of storytelling, but “The Power Of Love Solves Everything” – come on now, that’s a basic life lesson not a trope, although hugging it out at the end is a bit lazy.

§ A profile of Julia Wertz whose Tenements, Towers & Trash: An Unconventional Illustrated History Of New York City is getting another round of promo:

I moved to the city in 2006, and it took about a year to feel comfortable. But I don’t really abide by the whole “feel like a New Yorker” thing, because what does that really even mean? So few people are actually from NYC, and those who are don’t go around talking about what it’s like to be a New Yorker, that’s a thing that people who move to the city do. It’s an adopted mindset built on various stereotypes, some true and some not.

With three major celebrations this weekend, downtown Denver is expected to draw nearly 500,000. So experts say to plan ahead and explore your transit options. Comic Con, which runs June 15-17 at the Colorado Convention Center, is expected to attract over 100,000 participants. PrideFest, which takes place June 16-17 at Civic Center Park, draws approximately 375,000 people each year. The Juneteenth Music Festival and Parade set for 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. June 16 also will draw crowds and close roads.

Take a step back and look at the raw number of games announced over the course of three or four keynote presentations in just a few days, and you’ll see how bizarre it is. No other mega industry event where announcements are made — San Diego Comic Con, CinemaCon or Apple keynotes — comes close to the scale that E3 hits with regularity.

Heidi MacDonald is the founder and editor in chief of The Beat. In the past, she worked for Disney, DC Comics, Fox and Publishers Weekly. She can be heard regularly on the More To Come Podcast. She likes coffee, cats and noble struggle.